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Promoting Farm Safety and Health Through the Seasons

Promoting Farm Safety and Health Through the Seasons

OCTOBER 2024 

As summer transitions to fall, the UMASH team continues to promote the health and safety of farmers and their families throughout the changing seasons.

In August, we connected with agricultural communities at events like Minnesota Farmfest and the Farm Progress Show, sharing essential health and safety resources. As we highlighted key messages during National Farm Safety and Health Week and National Teach Ag Day, our outreach focused on topics like influenza, farm safety culture, and immigrant worker safety, reaching audiences across the country and beyond.

Catch up on our recent activities from August and September, as the UMASH team supports agricultural communities in navigating seasons of change. 

UMASH Team On the Move: Sharing Health and Safety Near, Far, and Wide

UMASH Wellness Pavilion Leads the Way in Living Healthy and Farming Safely at Minnesota Farmfest 2024

For the sixth year, on August 6-8, 2024, UMASH hosted the UMASH Wellness Pavilion at Minnesota Farmfest, the largest farm show in Minnesota. Hosted on the Gilfillan Estate in Redwood County, Minnesota, this event attracts thousands of farmers, workers, families, state and local officials, and community members from across the region.

The UMASH Wellness Pavilion provided valuable safety, health, and injury prevention resources for farmers, farmworkers, and families with hands-on activities, blood pressure screenings, live farm safety and rescue demonstrations, and a “new to 2024” Family Wellness Area to encourage learning and conversation about Living Healthy, Farming Safely.

Progressing Farmer Safety and Health at Farm Progress Show 2024

UMASH also participated in the 2024 Farm Progress Show this summer in Boone, IA, one of the largest agricultural events in the U.S. In the Health and Safety tent, UMASH Outreach Director and Center Coordinator Megan Schossow engaged with attendees, sharing vital health and safety resources.

Collaborating with partners like the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health, who organized the tent, along with the National Farm Medicine Center and Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, UMASH connected with numerous attendees and shared valuable insights to support the agricultural community.

Sharing Safety and Health Insights 

In September, UMASH Director Dr. Jeff Bender traveled to the University of Alberta, Canada, to present the J.G. O’Donoghue Memorial Lecture, a lecture series established in 1981 featuring outstanding veterinarians and scientists. Dr. Bender’s talk, titled “Farm Safety and Health is a Team Sport,” focused on promoting worker health and safety in agriculture through a holistic, team-based approach. During September, Dr. Bender was also featured as a presenter for the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute Scientific Seminar to discuss zoonotic influenza and its impact on agricultural communities.

UMASH Associate Director and Migrant Clinicians Network Chief Program Officer Amy Liebman addressed the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists in September, highlighting the health and safety challenges faced by immigrant dairy workers. Her presentation underscored the need for culturally contextual outreach to effectively engage these communities and provide them with necessary resources and support.

Harvesting Health and Safety

National Farm Safety and Health Week

Fall harvest can be one of the busiest and most dangerous times of the year for those in agriculture. That’s why the third week of September is designated as National Farm Safety and Health Week. This year, UMASH collaborated to put together a promotional toolkit to help promote U.S. Ag Center safety and health resources, encouraging cross-center collaboration throughout the 2024 campaign.

Several UMASH team members and projects were featured in the media throughout the week to share more about how to have a safe and healthy harvest this season. Check out some of the highlights:

Think, Do, Teach – National Teach Ag Day

In September, UMASH also celebrated National Teach Ag Day on September 19, a special occasion dedicated to promoting agricultural education and recognizing the important role of agricultural educators in our schools and communities.

UMASH and the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (NCCRAHS) are committed to working with agricultural educators on the importance of teaching safety and health on the farm. For the sixth year, UMASH and NCCRAHS connected with future agriculture leaders at the 2023 FFA National Convention. Surveying over 900 students and 150 adults, this year’s survey focused on understanding attendees’ past training, beliefs about farm safety, and confidence in reducing farm injury risks.

Celebrating Excellence in Agricultural Safety and Health

Commemorating Hispanic/Latine Heritage Month with Farm Justice Legacy Awards

In September, Associate Director of UMASH and Director, Chief Program Officer At Migrant Clinicians Network, Amy Liebman was honored with the Farm Worker Justice 24th annual Legacy award. Receiving the Shelley Davis Humanitarian Award, Liebman was awarded as a Farmworker Champion for her work improving the safety and health of migrant workers and their families. 

UMASH Team Highlights

Join us in congratulating Dr. Casper Bendixsen, Director of the National Farm Medicine Center and Associate Director of Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center for being named to the board of Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA), a coalition of organizations, businesses, federal agencies and safety professionals all seeking to improve the health and safety of farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers. 

UMASH researcher Dr. Noelle Noyes, DVM, PhD, has received a 5-year, $3.6 million grant from the NIH Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to develop a crucial tool against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a major global public health threat.

 

Explore the Latest Resources and Publications from UMASH

New Case Studies Profile Series on Farmer Mental Health

UMASH research project teams (Identifying individual and contextual determinants underpinning farmers’ help-seeking behaviors and their role in shaping mental health outcomes) have developed case studies across the project’s six study counties across Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin to look at each county’s social, economic, health, and healthcare factors to better understand how farmers seek mental health support. 

The Use of Injury and Fatality Narratives to Convey Agricultural Safety and Health Messages and to Develop Effective Resources Through Collaborative, Multi-Disciplinary Approaches (Tell a Story, Save a Life)

Journal of AgroMedicine – Melissa Ploeckelman, Scott Heiberger, Risto Rautiainen, Anthony Johnson, Devon Charlier, Aaron Yoder, Ellen Duysen

Learning from graduate students’ non-formal evaluation experiences in university-based centers

Journal of Evaluation and Program Planning –  Devon Charlier, Suness Hall, Hannah Kinzer, John M. LaVelle